Trainers preparing for high temperatures at Pimlico
BALTIMORE – Trainers and officials at Pimlico were preparing Friday morning as best they could for the blazing heat forecast to descend on this area both Friday and Saturday, when temperatures were predicted to rise to the low-90s for the Black-Eyed Susan card on Friday and as high as 97 for the Preakness card on Saturday.
Sean McCarthy, who trains Black-Eyed Susan favorite Adare Manor, said he had given Adare Manor electrolytes on Thursday, and on Friday would give her “water like normal.”
“Before the race, you might cool a horse down with a cool hose before you go over to saddle,” he said, adding that he had electric fans at the ready for Adare Manor while she awaits her race in her stall.
“This time of year, you’re always traveling with fans,” he said.
Electrolytes are the equivalent of humans using Gatorade. Since horses cannot be treated with anything on race day itself, electrolyte treatment must be stopped the day before a race. There is no medication allowed on race day; for instance, horses in graded stakes races cannot use Lasix.
Steve Asmussen, who trains Preakness favorite Epicenter, said the heat will be an unknown factor for all runners Saturday.
“They’ve never dealt with it,” he said. “We’ll see how they handle it, because it won’t be the last time. Ninety-five, 96, when it’s that warm it can be sticky in Baltimore. Give them plenty of water to keep them hydrated.”
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Pimlico has set up cold-water hoses along the outside rail at approximately 50-foot intervals, extending from the winner’s circle area near the finish line up the stretch to about the eighth pole. They are available to cool off horses immediately after a race before they head back to their barns, or the test barn.